House subcommittee to host hearing on small public water systems legislation

The House Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Thursday to discuss the challenges faced by rural communities seeking to replace, maintain or upgrade drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chairman of the subcommittee, and Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), the vice chairman, issued a joint statement in advance of the hearing, entitled “Technical Assistance for Rural Water Systems: S. 611, the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act.”

“In Illinois, Mississippi, and across the country, small and rural communities face many challenges, especially when it comes to delivering safe and clean drinking water,” Shimkus and Harper said. “Not only do they face disproportionately higher costs per resident when compared to urban areas, but many small communities do not have in-house technical experts that can address small drinking water delivery problems before they become large, costlier ones. We’ll be taking a close look at bipartisan solutions that proactively alleviate drinking water challenges in rural America.”

S.B. 611 seeks to help these rural communities through reauthorizing and expanding the EPA program that gives small public water systems technical assistance through grants for a range of projects.